Halya Coynash: Putin honours chief suspect in Kremlin critic Litvinenko’s killing
Andrei Lugovoi reacts during a press conference in Moscow, Russia on March 12, 2013, about the 2006 poisoning in London of former Russian agent turned Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has honoured Andrei Lugovoi, the man whom Britain wants to try for the 2006 murder of Alexander Litvinenko. If this is a message, it is a scary one. The award is bestowed at a time when the Litvinenko Inquiry is underway in London, with new details emerging every day about the degree of evidence against Lugovoi, including the trail of radioactive polonium he is believed to have left. Putin’s award is to Lugovoi, described only as the deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Security and Countering Corruption. It is, however, "for courage and daring demonstrated in carrying out work duties in conditions linked with risk to life".
